Friday, November 07, 2014

PHILADELPHIA -- It was horrific. A 22-year-old
nursing assistant viciously kidnapped in Philadelphia; a video showing her
kicking, struggling against her assailant who -- it was later discovered -- allegedly
kidnapped, raped, and attempted to murder a 16-year-old girl just a month
before.

But there may be something more
horrific: A relative of the suspect could have notified the police of the man’s
identity, but chose not to.

“I suspected it was him,” Lamar
Barnes, answered when asked on the cable network show, Dr. Drew On Call last
night if he recognized his nephew, Delvin Barnes from the many videotapes and photographs
released by the police.

When the show’s host, Dr. Drew
Pinsky, then asked why he didn’t call the police, Lamar Barnes answered that
family doesn’t turn over family members to the police. Then added: Especially
people of color.

Carlesha Freeland-Gaither's kidnapping
ordeal ended Wednesday – three days after her abduction, through the efforts of
law enforcement officials in three states, and the help on one man -- Dwayne
Fletcher, 37, who witnessed the ordeal, and immediately called the police,
using a cell phone that Freeland-Gaithers had deliberately dropped on the
sidewalk during the attack.

But it might have ended sooner if
Barnes’ uncle or any other family member had contacted the police as soon as
they suspected it was him in the video.

When asked if police department had any comment about Lamar Barnes' admission, Public Affairs Officer Jillian Russell would only say: "At this point, Carlesha is safe and [Delvin Barnes] is custody and we are going to let the prosecution process take place."

Philadelphia
community activist Maisha Ongoza said there may be systemic reasons for people
of color to hesitate going to the police.

“But let’s make it clear, it’s not
because they have some allegiance to crime. I think it’s more of a fear that if
they turn someone in that person might get beaten by the police, or not get a
fair hearing,” said Ongoza, who recently retired as coordinator of the Say Yes to Education, Bryant Chapter.

Ongoza also wanted to make clear
that she believes that Barnes’ uncle should have notified the police when he
suspected that his nephew was the perpetrator, especially since he knew about
Barnes’ violent history towards women.

Barnes was arrested in 2005 for breaking
into the home of his estranged wife, hitting and choking her, and then
attacking her parents when they tried to come to her aide. According to reports Barnes was sent away
for seven years and, moved to Virginia when released last year.

Just last month Barnes allegedly
walked up on a 16-year-old girl in Virginia and hit her in the head with a shovel; he then
kidnapped and raped her, then showed her photographs of other girls who he said
were his previous victims. Barnes is said to have doused the girl with bleach
and gasoline, and had started digging her grave. Miraculously, the girl was able to
escape. DNA
evidence linked Barnes to the crime, and Virginia
authorities put out a warrant for his arrest.

Surveillance cameras show Freeland-Gaither
had just gotten off a SEPTA bus at the intersection of Coulter and Greene
streets at 9:40 p.m. Sunday when she
was approached by a man who grabbed her. Though she fought him all the way, he
dragged her to his car and shoved her inside.

The sole witness to the crime was
Fletcher, and Philadelphia police
have said that had it not been for him, they may not have even known, until too
late, that a crime had been committed.

The question, though, is whether
the crime could have been more quickly solved if Lamar Barnes had notified the
police when he suspected the man shown in the pictures and videotapes was his
nephew.

“That’s just preposterous. He ought
to be ashamed of himself,” said 26-year-old East Oaklane
resident, Gelea L. Matthews when she heard about Lamar Barnes' remarks on the show.
“I understand family ties, but you have a duty, as a human being, to say something
when you know someone’s life in danger.”

Supreem Da Rezarekta’, a well-known
Philadelphia MC, said that there was simply no justifiable excuse for anyone who recognized
Delvin Barnes on the videotape to sit back and do nothing.

“I even understand the whole ‘no-snitch’
stuff, but the deal is sometimes you have to step up and do the right thing,”
said the entertainer. “Don’t worry about the code of the streets or anything. How
would he feel if it was his daughter?”

In his defense Lamar Barnes, who
has said that he has a daughter and granddaughters, claimed that if he knew how
to contact his nephew he would have tried to convince him to turn himself in.

Lamar Barnes also told Dr. Drew
that he wished the Freeland-Gaither’s family well, and is glad that their
daughter is back home with them.

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Welcome To My Blog!

My name is Karen E. Quinones Miller, I'm the author of eight published bestselling novels, and a former staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer who has been published in numerous other media outlets -- including People Magazine. For years people have told me I should blog, since I'm opinionated, outspoken, and love to write. So I've started my blog! You'll see that most of my posts are about social justice issues . . . I'm passionate about injustice, and I get so angry I find I have to write in order to keep myself from buying an Uzi and taking a lot of people out.